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Friday, August 17
Tracy has yet to win in 2001
Associated Press
ELKHART LAKE, Wis. -- Paul Tracy is hoping a return to the
site of his greatest comeback will turn around a disappointing season.
A year ago, Tracy won the Motorola 220 at Road America even though his engine died seconds before the start. The remarkable victory propelled him to a fifth-place finish in the points race.
|  | | Paul Tracy, who is currently ninth in the standings, is still looking for his first win of 2001. |
Tracy has yet to see a checkered flag this season and is ninth in points, 38 behind leader Kenny Brack.
A return to the 4.048-mile, 14-turn Road America course has been good for the soul, Tracy said during Friday's practice session. He called last year's victory one of the biggest thrills of his career.
"I don't know about the most satisfying. I think winning the two races in Canada (Toronto in 1993 and Vancouver last year) probably rank the highest," said Tracy, who's from Scarborough, Ontario. "But it was a great win for everybody on the whole team. It kind of jump-started our season again and got us in contention for the championship.
"We're in about the same position as we were last year coming into this race," Tracy added. "So, I hope we can have a good result here again and get a good finish."
And a better start.
A year ago, Tracy thought his day was done before it had even begun.
"I went for the start and started coming up the hill and the engine just died and the thing shut off," said Tracy, who fell from seventh to 23rd on the first lap after the sensor stuck open and killed the Honda engine in his Team Kool Green Reynard.
With his engineer directing the process, Tracy managed to shut down the sensor and restart the engine. By then, though, he was so far back he couldn't see any of the other racers.
Team owner Barry Green radioed Tracy and told him to forget about the field, just run the race as best he could.
"We were so far behind after the first lap that all I thought about was, `OK, we've just got to get in the points,' " Tracy said. "So, that's what I concentrated on and guys kept falling out and having problems and I was passing guys."
Only 11 of the 25 starters were running at the end of the 55-lap race. But Tracy said he never envisioned overtaking the entire field.
"I didn't think about it. I just put my head down and started driving," he said.
Tracy steadily moved through the field, finally taking the lead for the first time on lap 38 when Alex Tagliani's car, which had been leading by nearly six seconds, coasted to a stop on course.
"I was surprised that I was in the lead, but I thought that some guys maybe had pitted and I was a little out of sequence," Tracy said.
The new leader made his final fuel stop on lap 45, giving up the top spot to Roberto Moreno.
When Moreno had to make his last stop on lap 51, Tracy reassumed the lead and pulled away to win by 7.450 seconds over Adrian Fernandez.
Fittingly, Tracy ran out of fuel on the second turn of his cool-down lap, coasting to a stop three turns later. He hopped out of the car, waved to the spectators, then jumped back into the cockpit and took the remainder of his victory lap while towed to victory lane by a safety truck.
Tracy said it was nice to see Road America again, but he didn't want to get too nostalgic.
"It's a good feeling when you come back to a track you won at," he said. "But it's a new year, a new car and we've got a lot of work to do." Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories
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